And Everything Nice
by caffinate-me
Summary: A silly little one shot for Castle Fanfic Monday. It's pumpkin spice season and one local barista makes a horrible mistake.


And Everything Nice

Castle was whistling when he pushed through the doors to the 12th. It was a beautiful day outside, the first vestiges of autumn bringing a nip to the air. He nodded to the officer manning the front desk. After receiving a couple terse texts lamenting the existence of Monday mornings, it hadn't been a hard decision to take a break from the relatively quiet morning at the PI firm to bring coffee to his wife.

So, he stood, rocking back and forth from the balls of his feet to his heels, a steaming hot latte clutched in each hand and a smile on his face, watching the numbers above the elevator door illuminate their way up to four.

His smile never faltered while he passed through the bullpen, nodding and swapping hellos with everyone he missed seeing on a daily basis now that Beckett had been promoted and he was focusing more on his own blossoming clientele. Beckett's relieved smile at his knock had his grin growing tenfold, and she practically beamed when he held out the coffee, only to have her brow furrow when it slipped into her palm.

"Pumpkin Spice?"

"What?" He questioned, looking at his own label in confirmation. The name _Rick_ printed in barista scrawl, right next to his own _PSL_. "Oh, damn, they must have made the wrong order."

"What? Do baristas just have a one track mind this time of year? Everybody _must_ want pumpkin because it's fall?" Kate growled in response.

"Well, it is pretty good."

"Of course it's good, Castle. It's pumpkin! You know pumpkin pie is my favorite. That's not the problem."

"It's not?"

"No, the problem is that it's not just coffee anymore. It's _everywhere_. I can't go into a store without it looking like Thanksgiving dessert threw up all over a display table. Pastries, air freshener, body wash, yogurt, waffle mix, syrup, candles, lip balm, Oreos, soup, spaghetti sauce. Hell even bagels and cream cheese. Nobody needs that much pumpkin with their breakfast."

"Well, to be fair I don't think they intended for you to use them all together..."

"You know what Ryan brought in today?" Kate continued like he had never spoken. "Pumpkin Spice Latte M&Ms. They were disgusting, by the way. And you know what else I saw an ad for in the subway?"

"What?" Castle asked, already cringing at the answer.

"Pumpkin spice vodka. They ruined vodka, Castle. How is that even possible? What's next, pumpkin spice tampons? Just what I need, for my hoohah to smell like a freakin' pie one week a month." She flopped back into her chair on a dramatic sigh, the coffee lifting to her lips automatically for a pull.

"So, I'm just going to go and get you your normal vanilla." He responded only to have her clutch the cup to her chest, her expression affronted.

"No, this is fine, it's just nice to have fresh coffee. It's pretty good actually. Thank you for stopping by, it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too. Long morning?" Castle responded. His hesitant smile falling when the phone on the desk rang.

Kate rolled her eyes at it before turning back to him, apologetic. "You have no idea. I need to get this."

"Right." He responded, leaning over to give her a kiss before turning back toward the door. "I'll see you tonight for non-pumpkin pasta."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Castle's whistle returned when he turned the corner, only to have it stop again when he saw a delivery boy with a basket of suspiciously orange muffins pass him and stop to knock on Beckett's door.

"Oh boy," he mumbled to himself on a grimace while he swiped the bag of pumpkin inspired M&Ms off of Ryan's desk and hurried toward the elevator. His finger jabbed the call button, his foot tapping impatiently until the doors opened and he jumped inside just as Beckett's yell of _Oh for the love of God!_ emanated from across the bullpen.

He was definitely returning his new air freshener... and deodorant.

-#-#-#-

A/N: I blame Kate Christie for this one. Happy PSL season everyone! My entry for this final Castle Fanfic Monday of hiatus.


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